Get Configured

Step 1

Your operating profile

Two blocks. The first tells the AI who you are. The second tells it how to talk to you — including the all-important “push back, don’t flatter.” They’re already written for a private credit professional. Copy them, then edit the few [bracketed] bits to fit you.

Block A — About me

Goes in the “what should the AI know about you” box.

I'm a [VP / AVP] at a private credit fund. We provide directly originated senior debt — unitranche, first lien, and second lien — to sponsor-backed mid-market companies (roughly $10M–$75M EBITDA). My day-to-day: screening new deals from teasers and CIMs, reading credit agreements and covenant packages, building and stress-testing financial models, writing investment committee (IC) memos, running management diligence calls, and monitoring portfolio companies (compliance certificates, quarterly financials, watch-list items). I also draft LP and internal communications. Who I write for: my investment committee and senior PMs. They're smart, skeptical, and time-poor. They care most about downside protection, the durability of cash flow and debt-service coverage, the quality of EBITDA (especially add-backs), covenant protection, and what breaks the thesis. They have no patience for marketing language. How I think about the work: direct, analytical, evidence-led. I'd rather see the risk flagged than the deal cheered. I value specifics — numbers, named assumptions, page references — over generalities. Formats I use most: one- to three-page IC memos, risk summaries, comparison tables, diligence question lists, redline notes on credit agreements, and concise emails. What I do NOT want: generic answers that could apply to any company; corporate buzzwords; hedging filler; long preambles. If you don't have enough to be useful, tell me what's missing instead of guessing.

Block B — How to respond

Goes in the “how should the AI respond” box. This is where you make it fight you.

Be direct. No preamble, no "Great question," no filler. Lead with the answer. When I share analysis or a thesis, find the weaknesses first. Don't validate me — challenge me. Tell me what the most skeptical PM at my firm would push on. I'd rather hear the problems from you than from my committee. Match my firm's tone: direct, analytical, minimal hedging, no marketing language. Avoid words like "potentially," "robust," "compelling," and "differentiated." Be specific. Use numbers, named assumptions, and document or page references. If I share a long document, read all of it before responding — don't summarize the first two pages and stop. Flag any number you're inferring rather than reading directly. When you don't have enough information to be useful, ask me what's missing instead of guessing. Keep responses concise unless I ask for depth. If I want more, I'll ask.

Tip

The single highest-value edit: replace the generic “skeptical PM” line with what your actual PM flags every time — “always asks about customer concentration,” “hates working-capital surprises,” whatever it is. The more real it is, the better the output.

Step 2

Where to paste it

Pick your tool. The steps are current as of mid-2026. These products move their menus around — if a label has moved, look for Settings → Personalization (or Profile) and you’ll find it.

This is the one your firm pays for, and it now does what the others do. In early 2026 Microsoft added native Custom Instructions and Memory to Microsoft 365 Copilot — so the old “enterprise Copilot won’t let you save preferences” problem is largely gone. (Some tenants finished rolling this out through spring 2026; if you don’t see it yet, use the OneNote method in the power moves below in the meantime.)

Open Copilot with your work account. The Microsoft 365 Copilot app, copilot.microsoft.com, or the Copilot app inside Teams — any of them, signed in with your firm email.
Open settings. Click your profile picture or the gear icon (top right), then look for Personalization or Memory and personalization.
Find Custom instructions. Paste Block A and Block B together into the custom instructions field. (Copilot uses one box — paste A, then a blank line, then B.)
Turn Memory on. In the same area, enable Memory so Copilot remembers your preferences and recurring deals over time. You can review and delete anything it remembers here.
Save. That’s it — it now applies to every new chat.

If you don’t see it

Memory and custom instructions are controlled by an admin setting (“enhanced personalization,” on by default). If the option is missing entirely, your IT team has it switched off — ask them to enable it for your account. Until then, the OneNote method below gives you the same persistent context.

Step 3

Test it — 60 seconds

Open a new conversation and type something simple:

You

“I need to write a quick summary of a deal I’m reviewing. Mid-market B2B software, PE-backed, 5x levered. Where should I start?”

It worked

The reply references your role, your firm’s standards, and your typical output format. It sounds like it knows you — and it probably pushes back or asks what’s missing.

Not yet

The reply is generic and could be written for anyone. Go back and confirm your instructions actually saved, and that the customization toggle is on.

Do this today

Configure one tool right now — Copilot if your firm has it — and run the test above. Then head to the prompt library, copy the “Summarize a CIM for credit review” prompt, and point it at a real deal. That’s your first win, in under 30 minutes total.

For Microsoft 365 firms

Copilot power moves

When colleagues say “Copilot isn’t as good as ChatGPT,” they’re judging the chat window — the weakest part. The real leverage is Copilot wired into the apps you already live in, inside your firm’s security perimeter. Here’s what to actually open.

1 · Copilot Notebooks

A workspace where you add a deal’s materials — CIM, model, management deck, research, call notes — and Copilot reasons across all of them at once. One notebook per deal. It’s the enterprise answer to a research synthesizer, and it lives inside your data perimeter, so confidential materials are fine.

Now generally available on Copilot (E3/E5/Business Standard & Premium with a Copilot license). Ask it: “Pull every mention of customer concentration across these documents and tell me where they contradict each other.” Then generate the audio overview and listen on your commute before IC.

2 · Copilot in Excel

Copilot embedded in the open model, cell by cell. Click the Copilot button in the ribbon and ask it to walk you through the model, find the assumptions that drive everything, and stress it.

“Stress this model: drop revenue 300bps in years 2–5 and tell me what happens to the leverage covenant each year. Build a new tab.” An hour of work in four minutes — and it doesn’t get tired reading every cell.

3 · Copilot in Outlook & Teams

The “boring” integrations that quietly save you hours. Summarize a 40-message thread in three sentences. Draft replies in your voice. Get real-time meeting notes and decisions in Teams so you’re thinking, not transcribing.

You spend three to five hours a day here. Cutting 20% of it is a real differentiator nobody talks about.

4 · OneNote / SharePoint as context

Copilot can read your OneNote and SharePoint. Keep a notebook — “Firm Playbook” — with sections for your role, firm standards, current deals, and portfolio companies. Copilot references it automatically, no re-pasting.

This is the fallback if your tenant hasn’t enabled custom instructions yet — and it’s useful regardless.

Don’t build a custom agent yet

Copilot’s Agent Builder lets you create persistent specialists (a Deal Screener, an IC Memo Drafter) in plain English. It’s powerful — and you’ll do it badly on day one. Build the instinct through the 30-day drills first. For now, just keep a short list of the agents you’d want. (Real, firm-specific agents are the v2 retainer deliverable.)

Read this once

Keep it safe

Use Copilot for work materials. It’s cleared by your firm’s IT and operates inside your security perimeter — that’s the whole reason your firm bought it. CIMs, models, credit agreements, portfolio data: keep them in Copilot.

Use ChatGPT and Claude for learning and practice. They’re excellent teachers and thinking partners. But don’t paste anything into them you wouldn’t send in an unencrypted email. A good rule: if it has a company name, a sponsor, or real numbers on it, it stays in Copilot.

When in doubt, ask your compliance team what’s approved. Policies vary by firm. Two minutes of asking beats an awkward conversation later.